I hope you don't mind some photos of Santa Fe to go with the links today. Above is the Loretto Inn which I photograph pretty much every time I'm in the City Different.
EASTER
HERE is a link to the Drops 2011 Easter Calendar. They say they aren't going to duplicate any of the free patterns from last year's Easter Calendar and so far it looks like they have a pair of stranded bunny socks and a stranded bunny potholder pattern.
Jean Greenhowe has some free patterns on her web site HERE including some for Novelty Eggs (scroll down).
What a cute idea - HERE is a scarf made of garter stitch marshmallow bunnies.
I think these knitted Easter chicks are really cute.
My knitted bunny finger puppets are a fast knit and a good addition to an Easter basket.
FREE PATTERNS
Melissa Leapman's gorgeous Tonal Fair Isle Jacket uses I think 3 colors of Cascade 220.
The Norrsunda Bladkrans mitten pattern with an open wreath Swedish motif also includes a matching hat.
The fun Jellyfish Fingerless Mitts pattern uses two colors of Palette.
This striking Mudcloth Inspired Afghan from Lion Brand is knit in one piece with a seed stitch border in two colors of worsted weight yarn.
PATTERNS FOR SALE
The Norwegian Baby Tyra sweater pattern from this Etsy shop is so adorable. Also check out their Folklore Mitten Kit.
Check out Elizabeth Lovick's March of the Fibres Sweater pattern on Etsy. I see bunnies and sheep and camels and goats and alpacas, oh my.
Anne's Flower Hat by Wenche Roald uses two colors of fingering weight yarn and has a picot hem. You can also knit matching mittens.
EBOOKS
If you purchase the Dale of Norway Book 219 ebook for knitted accessories for $10, you can get a $10 voucher for yarn or books.
If you enjoy entrelac, check out Anne Gilmour's Happy Trail's Entrelac Sock Book. You get five patterns for $8.
INTARSIA
Knit Picks is now offering several intarsia tote kits HERE. I think Harbor Lights is my fave.
Check out the Verdant Wrap in the new Knitty. It uses a different intarsia method - I didn't read it thoroughly but it looks like the background color was knit along with the leaf color and then just the leaf color was done in intarsia?
EYE CANDY
Read through this whole thread from the Russian Color Knitting forum on Ravelry for some incredible photos of current and historical Russian stranded knits.
Swoon! Rainbow Toe-Up Entrelac Socks with an entrelac heel even - these are quite spectacular.
I really like Craftivore's Manly Man Hat for her DH with the large head and especially that she states the size is "Pumpkin 23 inches".
Check out Katri63's Swatch Blanket that uses Kaffe Fassett's patterns and her own hand-dyed yarn.
Another great idea! Mrspetersson used the multi-directional scarf pattern and Kauni yarn to make this beautiful Rainbow Blanket.
Jenannbec made a cute Checkerboard baby sweater to match my Checkerboard Mesa hat pattern.
MISCELLANEOUS
HERE are instructions for making your own glove or mitten blockers using just rubber gloves and rice! I've linked to this one before but HERE is another mitten blocker you can easily make from the Kathryn Ivy web site.
I'm getting inspired to knit some knee highs and I thought these Knee High Sock Blockers on Etsy would be helpful.
If you are interested in getting serious about color, Color Wheel Pro has a free download of their software so you can play around with color schemes.
This is pretty fun - the Random Stripe Generator from Biscuits and Jam. Just pick your colors and your stripe widths and you can see how they'll look.
I'm greatly enjoying the extra knitting time that comes with the advent of baseball season (even if all my favorite teams are currently losing). I hope to have two new pairs of colorful socks to show you by this weekend.